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Monday, 29 December 2014

I get so inspired by the feeling of new beginnings that comes with the new year - however cheesy it might sound, and as a part of that I have decided to have a go at de-cluttering our house and getting rid of (throw away and/or give away) a bunch of stuff that we don't need. We live in a small house with very limited storage space and after a week of Christmas celebrations and a bit of shopping in Sweden doing this seems like an even better idea... we have to replace stuff, not add. Simplyfing, if you will. My goal is to get rid of 50 items in this week before next Monday, but I haven't even started yet, so we'll see. I'll let you know!

I will let myself be inspired by this post, there are some pretty good ideas there.

Friday, 5 December 2014

Number 5 in Emily Dahl's Advent Calendar was pretty easy - this is the first picture that came to mind. It was taken on an outing I did with my brother M and his partner S to a mansion outside of Stockholm in late September. S took this picture of me while I was taking a picture of M, wearing M's cap and holding a roll of wallpaper I found earlier on a flee market. It was a slow day, we felt the last of summer in the air and things were generally good.

Wednesday, 3 December 2014

So, I'm joining in on Emily's Advent Calendar this year! She is one of my favorite Swedish bloggers, and every year for four years or so she has challenged her readers - and herself - to post a picture on a set theme each day for the whole of December. She sets the headline, we follow her lead. This years theme is "the past year", and I've decided to try and join as much as I can, partly because I think it's a nice way of summing up 2014, but also because I really, really need some inspiration to start blogging again. 8 posts in total in November, oh the shame!

So, without further ado - I'm jumping in on day number 3 with this sweet portrait of A and Cricket, just chillin' and watching out over the garden. Cricket can't reach this window, but has started to be very interested in the view from there, so every now and then we have to pick her up so she can have a look-see. And the Amazing A obliges. I've loved him this year just as much as the other 13 years I've known him.

Tuesday, 2 December 2014

So I noticed this on Facebook the other day: 20 Things Women sholdn't wear past age 30, and it just made me so tired... and annoyed, obviously. Because yes, there are things on that list I wouldn't wear, but not because I'm over thirty, and not because someone else had told me not to. This is just another stupid example of the "rules" women should follow, to be accepted as classy or beautiful or something else equally important. How helpful! Screw it. I'm going to wear hoop-earrings and cheep bras and old sneakers until I don't feel like it any more.

When I lived in Germany back in 2007, I first didn't speak any German what so ever. I spent some time learning in the traditional way at the Goëthe Institut, but I found it more effective just spending time with people, watching very basic tv-shows (Das perfekte Promi-Dinner, mostly) and listening to music. One of the more helpful bands where Rammstein, since Till is very good at articulating the lyrics... Now they are on Spotify and I became all nostalgic!

Monday, 24 November 2014

I bought my first Christmas gifts in October, so of course I've also been thinking about what to wish for myself ever since... It is no secret I love both getting and giving gifts, and honestly I hope I'll never stop doing so. I have a very extensive wishlist on my pinterest, but here's a selection of a few thing I like this year, just um... for your information (inspiration).

Wednesday, 19 November 2014

Here am I in a "new" dress from Vintagefabriken and a new shorter hair do. I've been feeling a bit low for a couple of weeks now, with an annoying cold and a lot to do at work that have resulted in me not really feeling like blogging. The cold is better now so I'm hoping to be back to normal next week!

Thursday, 6 November 2014

Found this sketch in an old sketchbook the other day. My fourth year at uni I had a summer course in Kazimierz Dolny, a small town in eastern Poland. I went with a few of my class mates and our art teacher and met up with architect students from all over Europe. We spent a week drawing, painting and generally having a great time and thinking about it I really want to do something similar in the future. I also wish I could spend some time with the two girls in the drawing again soon, my two fabulous friends M and S.

Wednesday, 5 November 2014

Today at work I had a workshop with a new client and one of the guys participating had the exact hair as Ten (the 10th Doctor, David Tennant, that is)!! It didn't help he had the same built, glasses and general looks, but it was the hair that did it. It was weird, I was waiting for him to shout "allons-y" the whole afternoon, but he was Danish so that didn't happen...

Monday, 3 November 2014

I spent this weekend with my BFF (bestboyfriendforever) and two of our friends E&M + dog in a cabin two hours away from Stavanger. I had a cold and wasn't as energetic as I would have hoped but that turned out OK since the weather was pretty bad and we spent most of the time inside, playing board-games, watching movies and sipping on whisky. We did go on a couple of walks though exploring the area and even tried our luck with fishing! The luckiest among us? E, who caught a tiny starfish. With a casting rod!

Tuesday, 28 October 2014

I have been in a bad mood for over a week. I can't put a finger on why, but even the smallest issues makes me anxious, annoyed and sad. And no, it's not PMS. It makes me annoyed that you'd even think that. Also I have a cold and a lot to do at work. Netflix isn't as inspiring anymore and I've run out of audio-books. Just so you know why I haven't updated here in a while - you wouldn't like to read more of this, right? Anyway. This weekend we're going on a classic Norwegian "hyttetur" (spending some time in a cabin somewhere in nature) with good friends and I'm sure that will brighten up my mood. I plan to bring my fishing rod and warm clothes and I'm sure there will be wine, board-games and food. Good stuff... Until then I'll just keep on browsing the "humor" and "geek" pages on Pinterest. And hide under a blanket with cat and cat.

Wednesday, 22 October 2014

Say hello to my new iPhone 6+ and my pretty kittycat-case! I'm still not used to how big this phone is (needs to hands to operate), but it works fine and I love how I now can take pictures for the blog directly with my phone without it being a complete catastrophe.

Tuesday, 21 October 2014

Today I had a pretty good day to start with, then a couple of minor issues at work got me in a bad mood and now I feel even worse for being grumpy the rest of the day... Best remedy for that? Paint an edgy design on my nails, put on my new River Song t-shirt and skip yoga to snuggle up in the couch.

The garden is starting to look pretty sad now even though some things are still blooming, mostly it's overgrown, wind-blown and messy. Therefore it's nice to move some of my projects indoors so I can keep honing my garden skills during the colder season! These are cuttings from some of my hydrangea plants I have outside, and it looks like they might have survived. Crossing my fingers.

Monday, 20 October 2014

Last week I treated myself to this pink and happy sweater from Moods of Norway. As it becomes cooler and cooler all I want to wear is warm knits, so I think this will be frequently in use. Here paired with two other favourotes, a skirt from Weekday and shoes from J Lindeberg.

Sunday, 19 October 2014

One thing I've noticed since I began with the pretty busy week-schedule I have, with activities almost every evening, is the importance of Sundays... I use Saturdays to recover from the past week and Sundays to prepare for the coming one. This usually means that on Saturdays I do nothing, except watching Netflix, eat candy and maybe go for a short shopping trip, but in a way I like Sundays even more. That's when I do all of the stuff I didn't have time for or prioritized during the week, like doing the laundry, mending clothes and do the dishes. Things that take some time, but with an exciting audio-book in my ears feel totally OK to do. I also try, like today, to prepare extra food, for example my breakfast muffins, and hang out some outfits to chose from during the week, to simplify my morning routines. I'm basically a teenager all week, trying to avoid cleaning and cooking but on Sundays I turn into a middle aged home-maker and do everything at once.

Last week I was so busy with the roller derby boot-camp that I didn't have time to do any of those things during the weekend, and that resulted in me skipping both yoga and the gym-session with the RD-gang later in the week, just because I felt too unprepared... silly, I know, but that's how I work. Fortunately I redeemed myself today, so bring it on new week! I even took the time to sort out my workout clothes to remove yet another excuse for not going to any of my activities. If I hadn't just burned my muffins I'd call this day a complete success...

Well, hello there!

This is a diary, of sorts, written by me, Annika, architect turned graphic design student. I spent my first 26 years in Sweden, the following 7 in Norway and now I live with my husband and two cats in Brunei, on the tropical island Borneo. Read my blog if you - like me - are fond of traveling, dressing up, reading fantasy, watching loads of Netflix, looking at cats, dancing Lindy hop and eating candy. Occasionally I get creative and, well, create stuff. When that happens I'll most likely blog about it. Welcome!